


we all got nightmares in our dreams

by aggressivelysketching



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-05-28 13:58:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15050657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aggressivelysketching/pseuds/aggressivelysketching
Summary: They started as trivial things. The sort of dreams you’d wake up from and sigh “it was just a dream” before you’d lay back down and drift off to sleep once more. They’d only have those dreams once or twice a week. But with every new experience they had in Gravity Falls, those dreams became worse and worse, and it was only a matter of time before they’d be classified as nightmares.





	we all got nightmares in our dreams

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing for Gravity Falls, so please excuse anything that is out of character. There’s spoilers for a few episodes (specifically The Hand That Rocks The Mabel, The Inconveniencing, Gideon Rises, Sock Opera, And Weirdmageddon) just so you know. I really had no plot decided or anything when I wrote this, and I’d leave it for a little bit then come back to writing it, so even though I proofread this there may be some inconsistencies (and some editing mistakes, I’m not the best at proofreading). Please feel free to let me know anything you spot in the comments and I’ll fix it as soon as possible.
> 
> Update (6-28-18): I was really unhappy with multiple aspects of this fic so I rewrote many parts of it, ending up with better dialogue and over 1k more words. On the downside, I had a lot more issues with formatting this time around, so please tell me if anything got messed up because I probably missed a lot of things.
> 
> Update (8-29-18): Went through this and added a few sentences here and there, fixed some typos, and switched a few words around. Also added a link to my tumblr in the ends notes.
> 
> -Sketch
> 
> (title is from the song ‘Shadows’ by Sabrina Carpenter)

They started as trivial things. The sort of dreams you’d wake up from and sigh “it was just a dream” before you’d lay back down and drift off to sleep once more. They’d only have those dreams once or twice a week. But with every new experience they had in Gravity Falls, those dreams became worse and worse, and it was only a matter of time before they’d be classified as nightmares.   
  
-   
  
Despite her brothers paranoia and slight anxiety, the first one of the pair to ever wake up from a nightmare with a scream caught in her throat was Mabel. It wasn't surprising that it was the night after the twins encounter with the child psychic, Gideon.

Mabel scrambled out of her bed, desperately trying to see her twin even in the darkness of night. She needed to make sure he was still there, still breathing, still alive. And sure enough, much to her relief, he was laying on his bed, chest rising and falling with the motion of his breaths. A book dangled off the edge of the mattress and he had a pen gripped loosely in one hand. It was obvious he'd fallen asleep after reading himself to exhaustion. 

She wanted to wake him, just to have company and to know he was truly alright, but even though he was sleeping, she could see the dark shadows under his eyes. He really needed rest-she'd be fine on her own for a few hours.

She glanced out the window, trying to guess what time it was. The sky outside was still dark, but streaks of misty gray and powder blue colored the horizon, telling Mabel that the sun was just beginning to rise.

It didn't take much deliberation for her to decide that any attempt to fall back asleep would futile. Instead, she sat down at the floor, staring out at the sky. She was uncharacteristically still, watching the colors outside lighten as the early morning gave way to dawn.

When Dipper awoke, Mabel had barely moved an inch, her eyes focused on the glass window. She had a solemn expression on her face.

"Mabel?"

She flinched at the sudden noise, as she had become accustomed to the silence. She turned to face her brother, eyes wide, but she quickly composed herself.

"Morning, Sir Dippingsauce!" she said cheerfully, smiling wide

"Why are you sitting on the floor?" DIpper asked, forgoing any traditional greeting. "Are... are you okay?"

Mabel blinked a few times, but after a moment, she nodded enthusiastically, grinning once again. "Of course I'm okay, bro-bro! I should be asking if you're okay. The bags under your eyes are bigger than the bags of groceries Grunkle Stan steals from the store!"

He squinted, scrutinizing his twin. He had to admit, she seemed to be perfectly fine, but she was clearly exhausted, and she almost never lost so much sleep that he'd be able to notice just by looking at her.

Not to mention how he'd never woken up to see her sitting on the floor.

"...are you really okay?"

She hesitated as she looked up at her twin, which was enough of answer. "Yeah, I'm okay..." she muttered, considering how to word her answer. "Just had a... weird dream, that's all."

Dipper stared at her for a few seconds before he nodded in acceptance. "Y'know, if you had a bad dream, you could've just woken me up," he said gently.

"I know, but you fell asleep reading, and you just don't ever get enough sleep! You need to take care of yourself, bro-bro, and I wasn't gonna wake you up just because I got up a few hours too early."

He chuckled at her determination to ensure he got enough sleep, standing and crossing the room so he could sit next to her. "You could've woken me up, still. Seriously, I've survived on worse amounts of sleep."

Mabel sighed, looking up at her brother. "If I promise to wake you up next time, you better promise to sleep more," she decided.

"Okay," Dipper laughed, "I promise."

Instantly, she perked up, lingering exhaustion fading into the background. "Great! Thanks, Dipdop! Now c'mon, if we get downstairs quick enough, I bet we can convince Grunkle Stan to make his famous Stancakes!"

And though she didn't think she'd have a bad dream any time soon, she had to admit it felt nice to have that assurance that she could wake up her brother if she ever needed to.   
  
-   
  
Mabel was, surprisingly, right-to an extent, anyway. She didn't have a nightmare for another few weeks. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for her twin.

Dipper sat up with a gasp, his heart pounding in his chest and his breaths short and uneven. Memories of the ghosts and the convenience store flitted through his mind and he wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. 

"Just a dream, it was a just a dream," he mumbled, repeating the phrase as if that would erase the memories from his brain. He'd probably never forget. "Tambry's okay, Thompson's okay, Lee is okay, Nate's okay, Robbie, Wendy... Mabel..."

Despite his attempts to reassure himself, Dipper was still panicking.

"...Dipper..?"

He looked over to the other side of the room, Mabel's tired voice taking his attention away from the nightmare. The moonlight filtering through the window illuminated enough of her bed for him to see that she was sitting up, rubbing her eyes.

"Mabel..? 'm sorry, did I wake you up..?" he whispered guiltily, his hold on the blanket tightening.

"No, no, no, it's fine! I'm glad I woke up!" Mabel responded quickly. "What happened?"

"I..." he hesitated, trying to decide how to explain that he'd had a nightmare. In a few moments, though, he was thinking back on his dream. It was honestly rather childish for him to be so worried about the events of over a week ago, he realized. "Nothing happened. I'm fine."

From the tone of her voice, Dipper was sure she was frowning.

"That's such an obvious lie, Dipdop. You can't fool me. You hesitated _waaayyyyy_ too long. Seriously, what's up?"

He sighed in defeat. Knowing his sister, she wouldn't let this go now that she had an idea something was wrong. The easiest option was to just give in.

"Bad dream..." he admitted reluctantly.

Mabel was silent for a few moments, genuinely unsure of how to respond. Finally, she just asked him, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

The idea was certainly appealing to him, but his dream wasn't that bad. Just memories. Now that his twin was awake, he was feeling much better, and he didn't need to be reassured or anything-he'd be fine.

"No, I think I'm okay now. Thank you, though. I appreciate it," Dipper said, giving her a small smile.

"Of course, bro-bro!" Mabel responded. "Really, I'm always here, y'know!"

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Yeah, I do know. Seriously, thanks a lot. Talking to you helped already."

"Anytime, Dipdop! Now go back to sleep-it's really late. Goodnight!" And with that, Mabel flopped back down onto her pillow. In no time, she'd fallen asleep once again.

Following her example, Dipper lay down himself, a soft smile on his face. Yeah, he was fine.  
  
-  
  
When Mabel woke up, her short cry of terror breaking the silence in the attic, Dipper had yet to fall asleep. 

"Whoa, Mabel," he began as he set his book and pen down on his bed, clearly worried. "Are you okay?"

She barely gave any thought to the question when she shook her head, her focus completely on differentiating reality from her nightmare.

Dipper stood up, walking quietly to the other side of the room, his footsteps light and gentle. He sat on the bed that belonged to his twin, looking at her anxiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I-I had a nightmare," she answered, glancing up at her brother. She could've said something else, tried to convince him that she was actually okay, but last time she'd had a bad dream, she made a promise to talk to him. Besides, she'd already admitted that she wasn't okay. He'd know if she lied now.

"What was it about?" Dipper prompted. He knew from experience that talking about a bad dream did indeed help, and if he knew what her dream was about, he could help her through her worry, he rationalized.

"Well, it's kinda stupid..." Mabel muttered, glancing at the grappling hook she'd placed on the floor next to her bed.

"Mabel," her twin responded seriously, "you woke up almost screaming. It's not stupid, I promise."

She sighed in defeat, her gaze returning to Dipper. "It was... y'know, what happened two days ago..." She hugged her arms to her chest, quivering slightly. "But... but I didn't have my grappling hook..." Mabel whispered.

Instead of saying anything, he pulled her into a tight hug. She was still for a few moments, but then she reciprocated the gesture, and if Dipper felt his shirt grow damp with tears on the shoulder she lay her head on, well, he didn't say anything about it.

"Well, y'know what, Mabel? You did have your grappling hook. You were amazing with it, and you caught me, and both of us are okay. We're both okay."

She nodded against his shoulder, listening to his words of reassurance. After a few minutes, Mabel pulled away, still sniffling slightly, and she dried her eyes with her sleeve.

"Thanks, bro-bro," she said gratefully. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Dipper grinned at her. "Well, it's a good thing I'll always be here, then.

  
-  
  
Mabel was awoken that night by the sound of her twin tossing and turning in his bed. At first, she tried to ignore it, figuring he'd gone to sleep super late again and was just trying to find a good position to fall asleep in. Once he started muttering words that she couldn't quite hear, though, she concluded that he was having a nightmare. 

She jumped out of her bed and quickly crossed the room, a stuffed animal held in one hand.

"Dipper," she said softly, nudging him to try and wake him up.

He flinched away on instinct, still deep asleep.

"Dipper," she tried again.

He didn't respond.

"Dipper, wake up!" Mabel shouted, desperate, though a few seconds later she regretted her volume. He jerked up, eyes wide, and instantly he scrambled backwards to the corner of his bed.

She took a step back, recognizing that look on his face-he'd prefer if she wasn't so close at that moment. "Dipper," she started, "you were having a nightmare."

Dipper contemplated her words for a moment, and he seemed to relax just the slightest bit. "Mabel..?" he questioned, unsure.

"Yeah, it's me, bro-bro."

He winced at the nickname, seeming to tense up again. "Can I..." He cleared his throat awkwardly, looking away from her in shame. "Is it okay if I check your eyes..? Please? I... I just need to be sure..."

"What do you-" she began, confused, before it clicked. Bill. "Oh. Yeah, of course you can, Dipdop," Mabel said

Dipper reached under his pillow, grabbing the flashlight he typically used for late night reading. All the while, he never took his gaze off her. He pushed the button that would turn on the flashlight and aimed it at her.

Despite the fact that she braced herself for it, she still squinted against the sudden light, but she powered through it. She ignored the strain in her eyes, knowing that her slight discomfort was less important than reassuring her brother thatbher irises were devoid of yellow and her pupils were the typical circular shape instead of slitted.

Dipper sighed with relief and turned off the flashlight, satisfied. He shoved it back under the pillow as he looked back up at his twin. "Sorry, Mabel..." he mumbled guiltily. "I just... just had to make sure."

"Hey, no big deal; I promise," Mabel responded, quick to reassure him. "I get it, don't worry. I'm, uh, guessing you had a bad dream about Bill..?" she asked, a slight hint of sadness in her tone. She still harbored a large amount of guilt for the events of the sock puppet opera, after all.

Internally, she berated herself for bringing up his nightmare so tactlessly.

Dipper nodded miserably, hiding his face in his hands. "He... possessed me again, but this time we didn't beat him, and then you made a deal to have him possess you instead of me and it was all my fault because I was too stupid and I got tricked by a triangle," he explained, his breaths quickening as he fell back into panic mode.

"It's okay, Dipdop, we beat him and got that stupid triangle guy out of your body. I promise, no one got hurt. I'm okay, you're okay, and Bill is nowhere near us."

Mabel rambled like that for a few more sentences until Dipper finally calmed down. He remained silent for a few minutes, just trying to gather his jumbled thoughts.

"Thanks for that, Mabel..." he finally said gratefully, his voice soft.

"That's what I'm here for, Sir Dippingsauce! Besides, I bet if you hadn't been so tired, you totally would've beaten that isosceles monster at his own game!"

Dipper laughed slightly at her words, and she grinned with pride.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Mabel. You’re the best.”

“I’m not the best, you’re the best!” she argued.

“No, _you’re_ the best!”

“You’re the bestest!”

“That’s not even a word!”

  
-   
  
The last night of their summer at Gravity Falls was, to put it lightly, a rough one. It was only two days after they had fought and defeated the dream demon, ended Weirdmageddon, and had their 13th birthday. 

Mabel and Dipper awoke at the same time, breaths uneven and hearts pounding with terror, grief, and guilt. They instinctively looked across the room at each other, needing to know the other was safe, and they both sat up. 

For the next few minutes, the twins just stared at each other as they took deep breaths, attempting to calm themselves.

Eventually, Dipper spoke.

"Weirdmageddon?" he questioned.

Mabel nodded. "Weirdmageddon," she confirmed.

”I’m sorry.” The twins spoke at the same time. 

Dipper was the first to move. He got out of his bed, carefully making his way through the room and over the floor that was strewn with the twins belongings that had yet to be packed up for the trip home. When he reached the other side, he sat down on Mabel's bed, right next to his sister.

"Do you want to go first, or should I?" he asked her gently.

Mabel looked at him pleadingly, and the message was clear.

"Right,” he sighed, "okay..." He took a deep breath, composing himself though he knew it was in vain. "I... I dreamt that I never found you," he began. "I never found you, or Wendy, or Soos or Stan or Ford or anyone." Already, he was spiraling, lost to the memories of his night terror. "Y'know, for all I knew, you could've been dead,” he chuckled dryly.

"Dipper..." Mabel said quietly, but he ignored her-or perhaps he just couldn’t hear her.

"I wouldn't have ever known, I probably would've just searched for you forever, and I would've been all alone. and it would've been all my fault because I was stupid enough to think I could've actually stayed here without you and-"

Dippers panic-induced ramble ground to a sudden halt when Mabel threw her arms around him, giving him an impromptu hug. The embrace broke him out of his thoughts and memories, the physical proof that his sister was still in front of him placating the teen.

"It's okay," she said reassuringly. "You weren't alone at the start of the apocalypse, and you found Wendy, and you found Soos. You guys found me, and we found Stan and everybody else, and we rescued Ford. We're all here, I promise; you're not alone, and it wasn't your fault."

All at once, he relaxed, wiping away the tears in his eyes. On any other night, he'd argue with her, tell her it was indeed his fault for messing up so royally, but he was just so exhausted that he decided to just accept her words. "Thanks," he whispered gratefully.

Mabel released him and smiled half-heartedly. "You'd do the same for me. You, uh, might have to actually..."

Dipper nodded in acknowledgment. "Right... it's your turn, now," he encouraged.

"Yeah, that's how it works..." she said reluctantly.

"You know it's better to talk about it," he reminded her in a gentle voice.

"I know... okay, just... give me a moment."

Mabel sighed, tensing up as she began to speak. "We were in the bubble again, and it was the trial, but... the trial was all wrong. You... lost the case."

Dipper winced, knowing exactly where her mind was going. He remained silent, however, letting her get out the rest of her frustration-personal experience showed that that was the best option.

"You, you would've been all on your own, and I know you survived for almost four days but when you came to the bubble you just looked so tired and you could've died if you were out there any longer. But I let the waffle guards just toss you out and I didn't care, I didn't care at all! You could've died and we'd have been apart forever because I made that stupid deal!"

"Mabel, that deal wasn't your fault," Dipper said quietly. "I made a mistake and because of that you were desperate. Besides, who would've suspected Blendin? He's from the future! And I didn't tell you about the rift, which is another thing that's not your fault. So it's okay, trust me. I'm here and I'm okay, you're here and you're okay too, and it's not your fault."

"But it is! I was being selfish," she muttered.

"So was I," Dipper responded.

"It wasn't your fault, though..."

"It wasn't yours, either."

"I..."

"If you want to insist that it wasn't my fault, how about we just place all the blame on Bill?"

And despite her guilt, Mabel couldn't help but laugh. "Blame that pointy jerk? I'm all for that."

"It's decided, then," Dipper responded, smiling triumphantly.

“Thanks, bro-bro,” she said gratefully. Both of them knew this was only a temporary solution. Another day, another night terror, would send them spiraling once more. But for now, it was enough.

With a sheepish expression on her face, Mabel turned towards Dipper, opening her arms for a hug. "...awkward sibling hug?" she asked.

He didn't hesitate, throwing his arms around her in an embrace that was only slightly uncomfortable. "Awkward sibling hug."

"Pat, pat."

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on my tumblr, [spookilysketching!](https://spookilysketching.tumblr.com/)


End file.
